A Demon's Side of the Story
by Ashaeron
Summary: At age 8, the villagers of Konoha finally cross the line, and try to kill Naruto. They succeed. Only, his body is still moving. There's more than one mind and soul in his body, and they only killed one. The other one didn't go with just screams and fire.
1. Prologue: Aftermath

Ok, ladies and gents, welcome to my very first work of fanfiction. As a result, I fully expect this to be a horrific disaster in terms of canon characterisation and consistency, but hopefully my plotlines and storytelling are engaging. Let me know if you disagree, please. I won't be specifically bashing any character, nor will I be intending at the outset to pair anyone together, though it may just end up writing itself that way.

Reviews that don't consist of 'AMAGAD UR STORY BADZ' are always helpful, even if you're an ass about it. Please, R&R, and remember, while I appreciate people reading this story and helping to improve my writing, if you don't like it, kindly remember it IS free, and above all, nobody is forcing you to read it.

This story will be most likely M, containing some coarse language, and probably a great deal of horrific deaths and brutal violence, though most of it will be alluded to rather than explicitly described, as that's just the way I prefer to write. Lemons... eh, maybe. Very maybe. I honestly don't see it, for this story, but they might come along.

If you're a nitpicker about spelling, grammar, or anything else, let me know via PM or review, I'll try and fix it. Sometimes, speech 'sounds' better when it's written with a few grammar errors.

This is posted at the beginning of both the Prologue and Chapter One.

Story premise is thus;

At age 8, the villagers of Konoha finally cross the line, and try to kill Naruto. They succeed. Only... his body is still moving. There's more than one mind and soul in his body, and they only killed one. The other one didn't go with just screams and pain.

* * *

**Prologue: Aftermath...**

The old man looked down at his desk, sadness and wariness clouding his wrinkled features.

"**You know they deserved it, human... Torturing a child. Despicable. This, this is why humans are the lowest of the low, the scum we will never acknowledge, no matter how powerful or how skilled you become."**

The old man raised his head, aged countenance meeting the crimson gaze of an eight year old boy. Even as he watched, the gashes and burns, punctures and strips of flayed flesh, hanging from his torn body, were repairing themselves. Looking on, he noted skin and muscle knitting together, the child's blackened skin shifting and flaking in ways that nauseated the masked squad behind him, despite their experience. Bones crunched and crackled as they realigned, the unnatural bends in his body smoothing out and disappearing, but the boy... the boy didn't even blink as his body healed, though it must have been torturous. His fiery gaze and oppressive, dark energy filled the room, invoking a small spark of sheer terror and apprehension in the powerful man before him before he ruthlessly squashed it. The old man suppressed a sigh. He was too old for this a decade ago, let alone now.

"Maybe so, but that does not give you the right to murder them," he countered, apparently calm and collected.

"**I HAD EVERY RIGHT, YOU DAMNABLE MORTAL!" **The boy roared, voice far too deep for an eight year old. It was still disturbing the old man. The 'child' calmed himself immediately. Loss of control here would only make things worse. **"And MURDER? Hardly. It was a perfectly legal execution, by your own laws, human. Justified, if ever I have seen it. And believe me, I have."** The old man couldn't suppress the sigh this time.

"Regardless, what's done is done. The real question is, what am I supposed to do about YOU? It's only going to get worse, now. You know that."

"**You're the so-called God of Shinobi. You're probably the most respected individual in the Elemental Nations, even more so than your damned successor. USE that power, instead of letting it waste away. The pathetic weaklings outside only have their power because YOU allow them to have it. And what do they do with it? They stir trouble, and nothing but. Wake up, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and DEAL with your problems, or step down and appoint someone who can and will."**

"Perhaps, but neither I nor anyone I appoint can take away their opinions, nor change human nature. And neither of my choices for the next Hokage will take the job."

"**True enough, but you could have done a damn sight better policing it."** The boy growled in frustration, then sighed. **"Damnable creatures,"** he muttered.

"What about... Naruto? What happened to him? And how are you out of the seal?"

"**I don't know. From what I've worked out in the last eight years, the seal only allows communication if both parties will it, or the so-called 'dominant' one of us, is asleep. I could send him messages when he was asleep, but I'm not even sure if he ever got them, let alone tried to reply. As for me, the seal is out of alignment, probably a result of the burning and stabbing around the inking of the seal itself."** The boy's brow furrowed in concentration, his crimson eyes and blood-stained features adopting a vacant, far-off look. After several minutes of searching, examining what was left of the boy's mind and power, he came to a conclusion: he would have to lie. And he HATED lying, hated it beyond measure. Not only that, he would owe this human a debt. A powerful one, for this deception.... But there was no other way. Not if his vengeance was to be completed.

"**Naruto... I can sense him, faintly, but he won't talk."** Shaking his head, he continued. **"In all likelihood, with his reticence, and my extended presence here, there will be significant evidence of my presence once the seal realigns."** He tapped his claws and temple, indicating his slitted pupils and blood-red irises. **"Your law will fail. It is inevitable now, you may as well repeal it... But. Tell the pathetic CREATURES outside, that if there is a repeat of tonight, I will not hesitate to raze this cursed village to the ground, and obliterate everything in it."** He growled, voice laced with scorn.

"Their fear is that you will do that anyway," came the reply.

" **For now, I have no reason to. My... imprisonment... was a result of my own blind rage. Hardly something I can blame you mortals for, you were simply defending your home."** He shook his head, muttering something under his breath, before continuing. **"However, if your people prove themselves to be so blind and idiotic again, I will have no compunctions against scouring this place and all the fools in it from the face of the earth. Even demons take care of their young, but you creatures..."** The boy trailed off as the old man sighed again.

"I understand. I can hardly say I am content with the situation, but I understand. It is interesting, to find the creature we feared for so long to be a rational, thinking being. But I must know, why did you attack us? What reason could you have to attack a place that has never done anything to you?"

"**Your statement, to the best of your knowledge is true. But it is wrong, nonetheless. The masses are still responsible for the actions of one individual. Think about this conversation, and you may understand my rage. Maybe. For now, I am going back to the trash heap that the kid lives in to rest. I suggest you make the announcement tomorrow."** And with a flash of crimson, he was gone.

The old man looked up at the pictures on the wall of his office, eyes tired and weary, but resigned. Looking at the picture of the Fourth, he sighed again.

"I'm so sorry, Minato, that this happened to your legacy." Pulling out a paper and pen, he scrawled off a quick letter before rolling it up and snapping his fingers. One of the ANBU behind him stepped forward and took the scroll. "To Jiraiya, with all possible haste."

"Hokage-sama," the ANBU acknowledged before vanishing to the aviary. Sarutobi rubbed his eyes tiredly, before picking up his pen once again, beginning the paperwork that would complete the conclusion of the lives of two hundred and twelve citizens, and thirty three shinobi of the leaf. 'Maybe... Just maybe, he will help Naruto... Gods know the boy needs a friend...'

* * *

And so it begins.

Yes, I'm characterising the Kyuubi as relatively honourable and rational, rather than a deranged killing machine. I find writing one-dimensional characters like that dull and painful (Gaara being a prime example, I'll be doing SOMETHING with him later, though I'm still not sure what).


	2. Chapter One: Fire and Treachery

**Chapter One: Fire and Treachery**

The boy walked down the street, crimson, slitted eyes calmly meeting the terrified, hate-filled gazes of the people around him.

'After five years, nothing has changed. At least they haven't tried anything in the last few years. Guess they learned, slow though it was,' he thought to himself. He picked at a stain on the black shirt under his crimson vest as he walked, becoming annoyed once again that he still hadn't found a store that would sell clothes that would suit both his personality and his body. He sighed, shirt forgotten, as the timid girl slid quietly around the corner of the building. He was still wondering why she liked him... but every time he went to ask, she'd flee, her guards would appear and whisk her away, or she'd faint dead away every time she saw him so close. Why oh why, wasn't she as terrified of the terrible demon 'container' as the rest of them? Maybe it was her lingering attachment to the boy who never gave up, never surrendered, even when they broke him. As he mused quietly, his feet kept wandering, leading him slowly towards Ichiraku Ramen.

His silent seating on the stools were interrupted only by a soft ring as he tapped the bell on the counter, still deep in thought. The pretty brown-haired girl down the back poked her head through the entry, and seeing him there, smiled.

"The usual?" She inquired. He shook his head, thinking.

"Shrimp and spiced beef," he replied. The girl smiled sadly, memories coming through. Her father loved to cook that combination, he always said that they tasted best when cooked together.

'Ichiraku Ayame. One of four people in this cursed village with a decent enough soul to show kindness to a boy who never had any before. One of the few worth living in this place for,' he mused. His slitted pupils noting the scalded skin on her hands as she pushed her way through to deliver the first bowl, a result of working long hours with pots of boiling water. As she placed it down, he gently grasped her wrist, careful of his sharp claws. As he channelled the human side of his chakra, a small green glow arising from his hand as he passed it over the burns, the girl smiled again.

"Thanks, Naruto. You always do take care of me." He just nodded. He could never repay the debt he owed this girl, one of the two that kept him here. Not ever. She and her father had been the only ones aside from the Hokage to help the boy he had once been, and yet, they had suffered for it.

"How's the old man?" he asked.

"Same as always, happy we're alive," she replied. "There were bouquets of Adonis and Agrimony this morning, don't suppose you know anything about that?" Adonis, a recollection of life's pleasure, but also sadness, and Agrimony, a token of gratitude. Flowers left for a friend and a father, a man owed something great. He smiled sadly. "You can't do this to yourself, Naruto, it's been three years," she said, exasperated. "I'm still here, aren't I?"

"And if I wasn't, he would be," came the quiet reply. Guilt is a strange thing. It eats you up inside, even as you are forgiven on the outside. No matter what they say to you, it's never really gone. A reminder that you will always be at fault for something, even if it wasn't really your fault at all. All he could think about was the burns. He hated seeing burns on Ayame, of any kind. It reminded him too much ...

He woke the sound of screams and fire. Leaping from his curled position on the tiny, rock-hard bed, to the window, he stared out at the flames licking the sky. He knew, instantly, what it was. Two years ago, he had warned the Hokage, and through him, the entirety of Konoha, not to mess with the boy he inhabited. There were four people, including himself, that would tolerate his presence, but they certainly couldn't touch the Hokage, and they couldn't touch him any more, not without serious retribution. So they went for the others, the only ones they could.

He smashed through the glass window, landing on the edge, glass shards digging into his bare chest and feet, before leaping impossibly fast to the path on the other side of the street, and sprinting away, faster than most eyes could see, or even detect a blur. It was only two blocks. Maybe he wasn't too late.

Thirty seconds after he woke up, he arrived in a crimson blur, breaking a man's arm as he seized the flaming torch in his hand, before planting a clawed hand in his chest and crushing his heart. Flinging the flaming brand at one of the many shouting idiots plaguing the street, not even watching as it connected with the woman's face, breaking her cheekbone and scarring her with horrific burns, he turned, leaping into the burning building before anybody had seen what had happened to the now expired man with the torch.

Inside, he blasted away with his chakra, trying to control, or at least suppress the flames, even as he frantically searched the small apartment for them. He shouted, desperate. WHERE WERE THEY?! Smashing open the door to the living room, he saw them, and wished he hadn't. Ayame's dark, burned arms covering her head as she cowered in the corner, terrified, her father, black and red and not a hint of healthy skin showing, lying beside her.

"AYAME!" he roared, far louder than anybody anticipated. She looked up, saw him, his crimson eyes piercing and panicked, and gasped. He just barely heard it, that tiny intake of air, but it was enough. He flickered over to them, seizing one in either hand, before charging through the solid stone that made up the wall to the outside, shoulder first.

They heard it shatter, like a thousand cracking sticks at once, but the wall didn't fare well either, crumbling just as badly as his bones, and the girl, sixteen years old, cried out in sympathy.

Two minutes after waking. As he tore down the street, away from the flaming building, the old man under his left arm moaned in pain. He gritted his teeth, but he couldn't stop. There was no time, it was the hospital or certain death for both of them. Even the enraged medics, believing he had done this, ignored him, frantically trying to heal the poor man and his young daughter.

Three minutes since he had woken up. He flickered away, returning to their flaming home, before darting inside, searching for something he knew was sitting on the bench. A photograph, far more precious than anything else in the house, saved, before he fled the apartment, flames still crackling behind him.

Four minutes. He set the photograph on the doorstep of the building opposite, the mob around him finally realising he had arrived, surrounding him, screaming insults and curses, laughing at how they had burned the 'demon lovers'. They didn't even notice his shattered shoulder joint knitting itself back together, his fists clenching, sharpening claws drawing blood from his palms, so consumed were they in their hate. As the blood dripped to the ground, the red, demonic chakra bubbled from his skin, tails of raw energy forming behind him. Only now did they notice what, exactly, they had awoken, and began to scramble, to flee. They didn't succeed.

Five minutes. He picked up the photograph, careful not to get bloodstains on the picture itself, only the frame. He turned, his bare, glass-studded feet crunching and sloshing through the pools of blood, stepping over the broken, gaping ribcages and disconnected, ruined limbs towards the hospital, hoping against hope. 'Such a human quality, hope,' he mused, crimson eyes leaking tears he thought he didn't have any more...

In the end, he was too late. Minutes, though they mean little to an immortal, are an age, in the ninja world....

The girl smacked him on the head with her spoon. At least he had someone living on the same floor as him now.

"You keep talking like that and I'll give you sashimi instead!" She growled at him. He made a face at the thought of eating the wet rubbery flesh, before grinning broadly at the girl. A mask, and one she saw through instantly, but it would do. "That's better. Now, don't you have your Genin Exam today?" she queried, even as she prepared the next bowl of delicious sodium-enriched noodles. He nodded.

"Starts in 10 minutes. I'm at the bottom of the list, though," he said, before cramming a batch of noodles into his mouth, swallowing them nearly whole. "Shouldn't be a problem, but the ever-screeching banshees will be annoying." She smirked, having heard the fan girls' wailing in the past. They made small talk, but the memory of the man they had both loved as a father hung over them like a cloud. Eventually he stood, bidding his farewell, and once again leaving far too much money on the counter, headed to the Academy.

As he walked inside, the room hushed at his presence. Again. He sighed, shaking his head, clearing the morbid thoughts of Ichiraku Teuchi from his mind and making his way to the back of the classroom.

'You'd think, after five years of looking like this, of knowing about me, they'd be used to it. At least it shuts the harpies up for a few seconds.' Even as he thought it, the noise was resuming, Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino resuming their shrieking over who would get to sit next to their 'precious Sasuke-kun'. A pity he wasn't going to let himself go out and destroy the boy in a sparring exercise, but it was amusing to think about what their reactions would be if he did.

"QUIET DOWN!" came the call from the front, as Iruka and Mizuki moved into the room, quelling the noise with a yell and a simple amplification jutsu. "As you know, today is the final exam to become Genin. Do your best. First up is the written part, we'll be starting it in 10 minutes after all the papers are on your desks." As Iruka moved down the aisles, he watched the smirk appear on Mizuki's face when he thought nobody was watching.

'Something planned, then. Probably another conspiracy against the demon.' He sighed mentally, putting on a stoic expression as Iruka finally reached his nearly empty table, a scowl on his scarred face.

"Here you go, demon. For the record, I still think you should have been killed as soon as you were sealed." Expected scathing remark came attached to the paper, as usual.

"Thrilled as always, '_sensei'_, but neither you nor any of the pathetic individuals left in this cursed village have the power now. I'm protecting you from him, and yet you still hate me for it. Not my fault you tried to murder me and the only people precious to me in the world. What did you idiots think was going to happen, I'd just sit there and take it? No. I fight fire with fire, and you people don't like it when you're the ones getting _burned alive_, now do you. Now go away, I have a test to do." Came the exasperated reply. An old argument, one they had been having on and off for three years now, ever since he had saved the Ichiraku's from the flames. Iruka apparently believed that killing 'innocent' villagers was hardly the mark of an innocent boy. While he was right, it wasn't, his logic that said boy should instead have allowed himself and everything precious to him to be burned alive was just a bit hypocritical.

A snort was his only reply, and he smirked as, once again, Iruka couldn't comment without sounding like a tremendous hypocrite. As he walked away, the boy bowed his head to the paper and began to write.

"Uchiha, Sasuke. _Henge_, please." A poof of smoke, and a near-perfect replica of the Third Hokage stood before them, only his dark eyes and arrogant slouch giving him away as a fake.

"Excellent. _Kawarimi_, and then _Bunshin_." A log and ten illusionary clones later, the majority of the females of the class were, once again, shrieking about how marvellous their 'beloved Sasuke-kun' was.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Henge," the words coming across terse and annoyed. The swirl of blue chakra coalesced, becoming a perfect replica of Iruka, right down to his scowling face. Marking his clipboard, Iruka continued, asking for the replacement and cloning techniques, as expected. Replacement, as expected, flawless, a desk appearing in his place without smoke nor the expected loud pop. Frowning, Mizuki watched, not expecting the demon brat to be so accomplished despite his obviously sabotaged Academy career. He decided on a more... direct approach.

As the blue energy once again swirled around the crimson-eyed teenager, Mizuki unleashed his own chakra in a pulse, disrupting the forming clones... only to have red energy roar from the boy and crush him against the wall.

"Are you done trying to sabotage me, Mizuki-_sensei_?" the boy asked mockingly, the class wide eyed and shivering with fear, Iruka looking on in shock, but thinking rapidly.

"He's attacking a teacher, Iruka, he's disqualified!" Mizuki shouted, panicking as he struggled against the crimson youki.

"He's right, Naruto. You're disqualified," Iruka's decision turned out to be, once again, against him.

"Hn. Demon couldn't even get through some pathetic chakra distortion from a low-level Chuunin." All eyes swivelled to the class 'genius' and Rookie of the Year, the Uchiha 'prodigy', shocked that not only was he speaking, he was accusing a teacher of direct and potent sabotage.

"Sasuke, he's attacking a teacher," came Iruka's terse commentary, obviously not wanting to deal with the demon any longer.

"Only after that teacher tried to sabotage him," countered the raven-haired boy.

"Irrelevant. You shouldn't attack fellow leaf ninja, ever."

"HA. I'll do that when they stop attacking ME," came the mocking voice of the jinchuuriki. He was on his way out the door already. "I'll see you in hell soon, Mizuki, Iruka. Thanks for trying though, Uchiha. You might just be worth something after all."

"Hn." Came the response from the pale boy as he returned to gazing out the window, thoughts roiling on the stupidity of his class. 'He's obviously powerful, why do they hate him so badly? Idiots can't see that he's just what this village needs. Maybe he can help me, though. Maybe...'

Crimson eyes watched the chuunin flee the window of the Hokage tower, alarms already sounding as Mizuki fled the Sandaime, Forbidden Scroll tied to his back. As ninja congregated on the tower, clawed fingers dug into the roof tiles, pushing the blonde on an intercept course for the traitor. As he gained ground on the obviously straining chuunin, he pondered on what to do. Kill him? No. Too simple, and lacked justification for his actions. He wanted to at least TRY and hold a decent reputation, he got enough shit from the population of Konoha as it was. Not that he cared, but slaughtering the people the old man loved so much was something he couldn't do. He owed a debt, after all.

Incapacitation then. But the scroll? Memorisation, obviously. Satisfied with his plan, the black and crimson clad boy dropped from high in the trees onto Mizuki's shoulders in midair, driving him down below his target branch and into the ground, cracking his head on the dirt road and knocking him unconscious immediately. Too easy, Mizuki really was a fairly pathetic ninja. Sad, really, that this was all the teacher of Konoha's future defenders could accomplish. Cracking Mizuki's unmoving head on the ground once more, just to be certain he was out, the boy sat on his back and unrolled the large scroll tied around the chuunin's torso.

'Hmmmm, Kage Bunshin. Could be useful, with my chakra capacity. Really should have gotten around to learning some mortal jutsu BEFORE I got stuck in this situation. Oh well,' his thoughts came, rapid but concise. Quickly scanning the instructions, he noted the hand signs and chakra moulding instructions, before channelling his chakra. Satisfied with the clone on his third try, he scanned the rest of the scroll, memorising contents quickly and efficiently before resealing the scroll and reattaching it to the still unconscious chuunin, before lifting the unmoving body onto his shoulder and beginning the trek back to the Hokage tower, releasing chakra as a beacon as he did so.

It took all of a minute for the ANBU squad to find him carrying Mizuki. For once, they held their tongues and merely nodded at him, forming up to escort him back to the tower. One made to go for a kunai, but his captain quashed that idea with a quick set of hand signals. *No* *Traitor not him*

"Good choice," he said, looking out of the corner of his eye at the ANBU captain.

"You know ANBU signals?" The captain sounded neutral, skilfully hiding his surprise.

"A few. I'm better at reading the body language that goes with it. Stab-happy back there isn't happy about it, though. I don't have any inclination to fight you today, so let's get this over with," came the terse reply. The captain only nodded, moving ahead to alert the Hokage and other squads that the search was no longer necessary.

The aging Hokage sighed as the scroll was placed back in its library, the Interrogation department already having collected Mizuki. He had heard the report from the ANBU, and while he wasn't exactly surprised that the unpredictably powerful Naruto had beat Mizuki, he was expecting it to have been done with less finesse and a little more brute force, as jinchuuriki, with their excesses of power, were wont to do.

"So, Naruto, how did you manage to not only subdue Mizuki without a scratch, but minimal effort and combat time?" asked the Hokage.

"Dropped on him from above, old man." He replied with a grin. "He wasn't expecting it, and crumpled immediately. I just beat his head on the ground to make sure he was out. Basic shinobi principles, if your target doesn't know you're there, he can't fight back. After your initial attack, make sure he's out of the fight. It's common sense, really."

"True enough. Well, as you managed to best a chuunin and provided an excellent service to the village in not only protecting an important scroll, but also stopping a traitor from providing this information to the village's enemies, I hereby promote you to Genin of Konoha." The pride in his voice was evident as he handed the boy his forehead protector. He looked on the poor boy as his other grandson, someone who had been through things he never should have had to. The boy just grinned proudly as he put on the headband.

"Thanks, old man. I'll be sure to make you proud of me!" came the happy reply. Gods, how he hated lying to this bent and weary old man, deceiving him when he was one of two, just TWO people, who accepted him. He didn't know what he'd do when Sarutobi Hiruzen eventually found out the truth. It was guaranteed to happen eventually. Leaping from his chair, he hugged the old man, acting just like the child he was supposed to be. A child who knowingly shared his body with an extremely powerful demon lord, but a child none the less. He hated this, so much. The old man smiled softly, knowingly, as he hugged the 'child' back.

"Now, my boy, you should go to sleep. Team assignments are tomorrow, after all. You'll need to be at the Academy on time in the morning to meet your Jounin sensei," Sarutobi warned the boy, getting only a smile and a wave as the boy quietly let go and left.

He mused, louder than he had intended, but still unheard in the quiet of his office.

"What am I going to do with you, 'Naruto'..."

* * *

End Chapter 1. R&R, please. This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, as opposed to just straight creatives, I'd like to know how it turned out.

Is characterisation consistent?

Am I making the idiots of Konoha too much of a background? The relative 'humanisation' of a demon lord will be explained later, I promise.

Opinions, please.


	3. Chapter Two: 'Team' Seven

Thanks for the reviews guys, it's good to know that people are actually liking the concept.

Fair warning , though, as my university term progresses I'm probably not going to be able to hold this update schedule, probably a ~3k word chapter about once a week will be my average, I think.

R&R, please.

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Chapter 2: "Team" Seven

"Team Seven; Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto. Your Jounin Sensei is Hatake Kakashi."

The blonde sighed. 'Well, I guess it could have been worse. The Uchiha doesn't appear to care about me, but the bratty girl will be annoying. And Sharingan Kakashi... hmm. Wasn't he the Fourth's student? Damn,' thoughts of his newly assigned team drowning out Iruka's voice as the Chuunin droned on.

As the Jounin came to collect their new students, he noticed the Uchiha staring at him, obviously ignoring the yapping of the fledgling harpy by his side. Returning the boy's gaze placidly, he was only vaguely aware of the minutes slipping by.

"I'm so glad I got to be on a team with you Sasuke-kun! Even if we do have to be with the demon. I bet you could beat him up if he tries anything funny, right Sasuke-kun?" It appeared her mouth required no input from either of them to keep itself running continuously. It was annoying him already.

"Shut up, Haruno. Gods almighty, do you know how many teams you would have killed by now if we were in enemy territory? Your book smarts aren't going to help you in the real world, so be quiet, for once in your pathetic lif," he said, not breaking eye contact with the raven-haired heir.

"Well maybe, Naruto, you'd notice that you're still the dead last of the academy. You even failed the exam! I don't know how the Hokage let you become a ninja even while failing. Not like Sasuke-kun here, Rookie of the Year!" She sounded so proud you'd think that SHE'D been the one to take the top spot. He shook his head at her antics, finally breaking off from the stoic gaze of the Uchiha.

"Because those tests have almost no relevance in the field, and he knows it. It's a test of theoretical knowledge that's almost entirely useless," he replied, startlingly patient. "What really matters is stealth, power, and the will to get what you want, stepping over thousands of bloodied bodies if you have to."

His words struck a chord with Sasuke, a world view almost entirely identical. You had to know what you wanted, and you had to be willing to sacrifice things to get it. Lots of things. Sasuke wanted revenge. He wondered what the other boy wanted so badly, what he had faced to come to this harsh truth. He doubted it compared to the massacre, but he was still interested.

"You're just a monster who kills people he doesn't like! My parents know all about you!"

"Did they also tell you that those people were trying to burn me and my only friends alive?"

"What? You mean you actually did?" Even Sasuke jerked at that, Sakura's eyes growing wide. The so-called dead-last of his class had killed people already? Not to mention, what on earth they thought they were doing, antagonising someone keeping a demon lord imprisoned. 'Idiocy of the highest order', he thought.

"Yes, Haruno. Two hundred twelve citizens and thirty three shinobi when I was eight. Another seventy-four citizens when I was ten. And one Chuunin somewhere in between, I'm not really sure when. Both groups were trying to burn people alive, the first time after having carved me up with kunai and kitchen knives. Scum of the highest order." He spoke coldly, detached. It reminded Sasuke of his brother. But... Naruto hadn't done anything to him... and he obviously had power enough to defend himself. Plans and ideas forming in his head, Sasuke refolded his hands and resumed his contemplation of the blonde in front of him.

"You.... You're really a monster!" Sakura shrieked, her eyes wide and fearful.

"Congratulations, your idiocy has caught up to the rest of the village's. Guess you were just ignorant before. Now shut up before I do something I might regret later," he growled out, dark and scornful.

And so they waited, silent, two minds whirling and one watchful. One fearful, one whirring with schemes, and one patient as the ages, blank and relaxed. It took three hours before a silver-haired head popped in through the door, masked and one eye covered.

"Team Seven?" he asked. Getting two silent nods and a glare from the female, he continued, "Good. My first impression of you is... well, I don't really have one. Meet me on the roof," and vanished in a puff of smoke. Sakura leapt from her chair, and bolted from the room, angry her new sensei was so tardy, and wanting to get away from the crimson-eyed terror across from her. The two boys stood more sedately and ambled up, shoulder to shoulder. Their sensei was sitting on the railing across from the door, waiting, when they arrived.

"Slow, aren't you?" he commented.

"No reason to rush if you won't even show us the basic courtesy of being on time, Sharingan Kakashi," came the measured reply. 'Cool customer, huh,' thought the Jounin.

"Well, I had to help an old lady across the street and put her shopping away."

"Your excuse is irrelevant, and I don't care for liars. The memorial stone isn't that far away. Either show up on time or stop wasting mine," the blonde said, stoic and clipped. "Why are we here?"

"Well, I thought it'd be nice if we all introduced ourselves, got to know each other? I'd like to hear about your likes and dislikes, dreams, that sort of thing. Why don't you go first, blondie?"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like the Hokage, Ichiraku Ayame, and learning new strengths. I despise liars, traitors, and those who can't think for themselves, such as the sheep of this village. I have no dream. My purpose is to slaughter a group of individuals. That what you had in mind?"

"More or less. Pinkie, you're up," the silver-haired Jounin replied.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. I like... *giggles*. I hate monsters," here she looked at Naruto, "and my dream is to..." More giggles. 'Great. A fangirl,' thought Kakashi.

"Uchiha."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like very little. I dislike a lot of things. My dream is more of an ambition, to kill a certain man..." came the dark reply.

'Great. An avenger, a fangirl, and a jinchuuriki who wants to go on a killing spree. This is going to be fun.' He stood, about to speak, when the girl interrupted.

"What about you, sensei? We didn't learn anything about you."

"His name is Hatake Kakashi, also known as the Copy-nin, Thousand Jutsu Hatake or Sharingan Kakashi. He was a student of the Fourth Hokage. He reads smut in public, but has no known habits aside from spending far too much time living in the past. Dreams, I doubt he's really thought about it." Her answer came not from her sensei, standing there watching with a narrowed eye, but the crimson-eyed 'demon' beside her.

"Thank you Naruto, for your opinion. As I was about to say, there is another Genin test to be held tomorrow, to see if you're ready."

"WHAT?! BUT WE ALREADY PASSED THE EXAM!," came Sakura's overly loud yell. Naruto just turned to look at her, eyebrow raised.

"I told you this earlier, Haruno. Book smarts have little relevance in the field." He snorted. "It appears, for all your smarts, you're still an idiot. But I guess I already knew that."

"Hmmmm. Naruto is correct, the test is to see if you are actually ready to take on the job of a genin in the field. Meet me at Training Ground Seven, 8am sharp. Oh, and don't eat breakfast, you'll vomit." He vanished in a puff of smoke. Naruto turned and jumped off the roof, landing easily on the street, his black-haired teammate making his way to the stairs, leaving the pinkette alone, stunned by what she had heard, and how cold both her teammates were to her.

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11AM, the next day.

"Where ARE they?!" the girl shrieked. Alone, in the middle of the training field, Sakura was confused. Had she gotten the wrong training ground? Were her teammates searching for her among the other training grounds, or at home? Should she leave and try looking for them? Her questions were answered, when her sensei, dressed identically to yesterday, his gravity defying hair sticking up every which-way, appeared in a puff of smoke.

"SENSEI! Thank god! I don't know where the demon or Sasuke-kun are, did I get the wrong training ground? Why are you late?"  
"No, Sakura, this is Training Ground Seven, and as you can clearly see, I'm here. I'm late because there was a black cat crossing the street, and I had to go around the long way. Sasuke is over in the trees over there," he said, pointing off to his right. Sure enough, the raven haired youth was sitting on a branch about three meters up, just above an average adult's peripheral perception. "I don't know where Naruto is, though."

"Here, sensei," came the reply, the blonde walking over from just behind Kakashi's left shoulder. The Jounin frowned, having serious difficulty sensing his chakra even at this distance. 'That's some damn good suppression, especially with the Kyuubi's chakra to boot. After the raven-haired boy made his way over from his tree, Kakashi began speaking again, holding up two small silver bells.

"Alright. This exam has a 66% failure rate. You fail, you get sent back to the Academy. Your objective is these bells. You have an hour. Come at me as if you mean to kill me, or you won't get anywhere near them." His blonde-haired student laughed shortly, mirthless and mocking, the sound grating and hollow.

"I presume that message was for these two, sensei. I doubt you want the Kyuubi's youki chasing you around trying to burn you alive." The cyclops just looked at him, a little shocked at the implication he could use it, and nodded.

"Now, this is important. Only the people with the bells will get to become Genin. If you don't have a bell, you go back to the academy, and you can take the exam again next year."

"But, sensei, there are only two bells. There are three of us..."

"Correct. That means only two of you can pass. The third will be going back to the Academy." Kakashi shrugged. "Tough luck to the third, I guess."

"Teamwork exercise. Great." Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his blonde student. "It's obvious. You're trying to divide and conquer. They can have the bells, I'll go back to the Academy." Sasuke shook his head.

"No way am I letting you go. You take it, not like I'll have a hard time passing. Not much point in me taking it if you don't."

"What... what are you saying, Sasuke-kun?! You can't go! What about your ambition?! Ta..... Take my bell. I won't go on when you're staying behind, it's not right." Sakura's pink hair was flailing wildly as she shook her head, vehement in her denial.

"Hmmmm... Team Seven... passes!" They all just looked at him. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, expressing their combined disbelief. "You're all demonstrating willingness to sacrifice yourselves for the sake of the greater good. Such a sacrifice is often necessary for the good of the village. A sad, but often inescapable, truth. Unfortunately for you, I still have to test your combat skills. If they are insufficient, you won't survive the missions, and I won't risk you on the team."

Naruto and Sasuke's thoughts could be summed up in one word: 'Shit'. And, after Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke, they vanished into the undergrowth, closely followed by Sakura. She may not have possessed the best temperament for a ninja, but even she realised it was a bad idea to be standing in the open for your enemies to find.

* * *

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Kakashi, hidden underground in his earth jutsu, noted that both Sasuke and Sakura were decent at concealing themselves, hiding in thick underbrush or dense foliage they could see out of, while still being difficult to locat. Naruto, on the other hand, had practically vanished, his chakra signature winking out entirely, no trace of him to be seen.

'What kind of Genin has that sort of skill? To hide from a Jounin entirely, and with his chakra capacity? Unheard of...' As he pondered this mystery, he noted Sasuke start slightly, then cock his head, as if listening to something. Then a black shape faded out behind him and he found Naruto. Shortly after, he saw Sakura jump, a hand clamped over her mouth to prevent her from making any noise, he eyes wide with fear. Then she seemed to calm down a bit, though the fear remained.

'Looks like we're going to have to work on Sakura's integration with the other two,' he mused quietly, before he noted a black and crimson clad figure appear on the edge of the forest, eyes sweeping over the training ground, before looking directly at him. 'He found me. Damn.'

Another black and crimson figure appeared on the other side of the clearing, identical to the first. 'Clone? He can't think that will work on me, he's too smart for that.' He headed for the second figure, its chakra signature ever-so-slightly stronger than that of the first, before leaping from the ground, foot swinging wide over the blonde figure's head as he ducked.

The blonde returned fire, going for a leg sweep and then an uppercut, dancing around Kakashi until the elder was facing the clearing, back to the forest. Then an axe kick came flying down from above his head, nearly connecting as the cyclops sidestepped, Sasuke's foot hitting the ground harmlessly. As Naruto leapt over his teammate, fist swinging around in a wide hook, seamlessly followed by a foot, the wire beneath Kakashi's foot released, kunai flying from behind the blonde aimed right into his back. One buried itself in his ribs, before the body vanished in a puff of smoke and the other three kunai flew into the wide-eyed Jounin. Sasuke turned, still wary, as Kakashi vanished, a log taking his place, kunai buried deep into the wood.

'That was close. I had no idea he could use shadow clones.' His few seconds of respite were quickly cut short, shuriken flying towards him. In his haste, he had put a hand down to steady himself, tripping another wire. Dodging smoothly, he noted another Naruto hurling more kunai at him, forcing him back off his branch... only to find he had been wrapped up in wire, the shuriken it was attached to now buried in the tree trunk behind him.

"_KATON: __GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU!"_ As fire enveloped the vested figure, more kunai quickly buried themselves in the shape. As it died down, Naruto landed next to the ash, checking it. As he thought, another Kawarimi.

"Sasuke." The black-haired boy nodded, before jumping back into the foliage. Kakashi, seeing his chance, dropped down behind the blonde-haired boy. Grabbing his arms quickly, forced them behind his back, before planting a knee between the blonde's shoulders and pushing him to the ground.

"Good try, Naruto. Nice teamwork, too. I assume Sakura's the one setting traps?" The blonde nodded, the visible crimson eye gazing calmly back at his captor, before speaking.

"Looks like you're less wary than I thought you'd be, considering the fox, and all. Pity." The clone smirked, maliciously. "Katsu." The resulting explosion blew the tree next to him and the Jounin on top of him to pieces, shattered pieces of wood raining down on the newly made clearing.

'Explosive notes stuck to a clone... Christ, that was too close. This kid really isn't playing around, and he's organising the other two to make actually dangerous traps. Thank the gods for _Kawarimi_.'

_"__Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"_ Another fireball came roaring down on his location, forcing him to step sideways, triggering another trap. 'When the hell did they have time to make all these?!' Kunai from his back and right, fireball to his forward left. Only choices were up or down. Looking down, he noticed another explosive tag under his feet. It was sparking.

'Up it is,' he thought, leaping into the branches as the sharp metal and fiery chakra roared below him, punctuated by the shuddering boom of the note going off, clods of dirt flying into the air. A trio of Naruto's appeared in front of him, swinging precisely measured strikes, covering each other perfectly and boxing him off to his right. Sasuke, once again dropping from above, kicking high while the Naruto's struck for his chest, abdomen and shins, all from different angles.

'No choice, gotta get hit.' Blocking the strikes for his head, chest and legs, he took the hit to his tensed abs, only to get winded anyway. Suddenly short of breath, Kakashi _Kawarimi_'d again, hoping for a brief reprieve.

"Kids... shouldn't... be... that strong," he panted, gathering his breath.

"Well, what do you expect? I have a demon lord powering my body, and it's not that hard to use chakra to enhance your strength. I just happen to have chakra to spare, enough to make it actually hurt." He looked up, to see another collection of Naruto's surrounding him.

"Using chakra for muscular speed and strength beyond basic tree-hopping is a Chuunin-level skill, Naruto. Where did you learn?"

"I learned of necessity, when I was six. Does nobody ever wonder how I outran civilians and Chuunin after my blood?" The blond shook his head, exasperated. "Seriously, sensei, you'd think you'd put a few seconds of thought into this." Conversation time over, the Naruto's began to move in, rings slowly forming around him, a few metres between each ring so they couldn't be used to clobber one another, or get in each other's way.

The cyclopic Jounin quickly decided it was better to be on the offensive, charging into the first ring and immediately taking out one of the clones with a punch to the gut. Unfortunately, this cost him a shot to the ribs as the occupied hand couldn't defend. Sure to find bruises there in the morning, the Jounin quickly became a whirlwind of fists and feet, slowly but surely destroying the first ring of clones, only to find they were replaced just as easily, and despite his best efforts, some hits were getting through.

'Damn... there go the bells,' he thought, unable to stop a clone retrieving them while trying to block and dodge another three. 'Excellent distractions and planning, these three. I guess I have to take them.'

_"__Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"_ Not Sasuke, this time, the fireball spewing forth from the elite's covered mouth, torching a half-dozen clones even as they dived to the sides. As the battle continued, three pairs of eyes watched from high above.

"He's good. Very good." Dark eyes tracked his teacher's movements across the forest floor, interspersed with puffs of smoke as clones dispelled. "I still want to know how he knows the Goukakyuu."

"Of course he is, he's a Jounin. Former ANBU captain, too, if I remember right. And Sasuke, remember his nicknames? Sharingan Kakashi, Thousand Jutsu Hatake, the Copy-nin. It's why he's your sensei, he's the only one left in Konoha with an active Sharingan eye." Crimson eyes followed, calculating, as Hatake continued to dodge both clones and traps, still without his sharingan.

"I want to know where he got it. Those eyes wouldn't have been given away by the clan freely, if at all."

"You mean he has a Sharingan? Sasuke-kun, why does he have one of your family's eyes?!" Sakura was, for once, quiet... well, quietish.

"I just said I don't know, Sakura." Short and to the point, Sasuke's cool tone hiding his irritation.

"We're almost out of traps in this area. Sasuke, how many more times can you do the fireball?"

"Once. Twice more at most."

"Sasuke-kun, you're so amazing, knowing an advanced ninjutsu like that already! And to use it so many times!"

"Sakura. If you're not saying something useful, shut up. You'll give away our position. Sasuke, to the right. Sakura, take the rest of the kunai. Push him towards the fireball. I'm going in, give him something to chase." And with that, the black-clad boy jumped off the branch, foot already raised for an axe kick aimed at their sensei.

Sakura, though she hated being ordered around, and hated Naruto even more, had to acknowledge his plans were good, they'd actually landed hits on their sensei. Hell, he'd been so busy they weren't sure he'd even noticed the bells she was carrying were missing, thieved by a clone shortly after the melee below began.

As the real Naruto took a hit and didn't vanish, Kakashi began to focus his attention on him, still slaying clones almost absent-mindedly as he looked at his most dangerous future student. Then Naruto gave the mental command for them all to dog-pile him. They didn't get far, falling to a _Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu____, _summoned from the nearby river. Watching his sensei demolish his clones with relatively little effort, even if it was a fair bit of chakra, he couldn't help but be impressed at the mortal's proficiency. Efficient and graceful, he was extremely effective in his role on the battlefield, maiming and killing the clones and moving on, swift and brutal.

Then he himself charged, noticing Sakura beginning to throw kunai, her mind already calculating the best spots to try and put them with her slow fire rate and poor accuracy, strategy making up for poor performance as she slowly shepherded the fighting duo, Naruto's freshly planted bruises already healing, towards Sasuke's position.

There. Naruto jumped, even as the fireball roared in between a small gap in the trees, disengaging even as Kakashi Kawarimi'd out of the way.

"Sensei. We win," he said, as Sakura and a thoroughly exhausted Sasuke joined him on the branch above their instructor, Sakura holding the silvered bells.

He... smiled? It looked like a smile, the curve of his eye and slight shift of his mouth.

"Congratulations Team Seven. Meet here tomorrow, eight am again," before he once again vanished in a puff of smoke.

Naruto grinned, feral and frightening, before his face returned to its normal stoic demeanour, as he walked down the tree, startling his teammates, heading to Ichiraku's for lunch.

"Coming?" he asked. Sasuke, looking after him, jumped off the branch and made after his new teammate.

Sakura... still didn't know what to do. Go with Sasuke, and risk being with the monster? Or go home, and risk losing her crush? Eventually, she made up her mind...

* * *

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___What, you didn't think I'd actually give him exploding clones, did you? Too simplistic._

___Anyways, I decided to stick with the original Team Seven, because, despite his obvious intelligence and strength, 'Naruto' still came last in the Academy by virtue of his failed clone. Plus, I think I can actually do something with Sasuke without making him a straight-up asshole/villain. Should be interesting._

___For those wondering why 'Naruto' isn't overpowered as shit, it's because he's not using his gigantic chakra supply, there's no need. Not using his demonic chakra, the stuff he's been using for centuries, is also a slight disadvantage, as it's generally much more flexible in its use than 'human' chakra (flying demonic claws, anyone?). It's just a Genin test, and he doesn't actually KNOW very many jutsu, after all, what use does a giant fire-breathing chakra being have for mortal jutsu, when he can just apply some of his gigantic chakra supply to do whatever he needed anyway? Advantages of being a demon, I guess._

___That aside, he's obviously much better at Taijutsu, and Genjutsu, because he's had an education, torn from the grasp of the less-than-willing Chuunin instructors with threats and the Hokage's influence. Additionally, he can READ, and his years of experience wielding an enormous chakra supply make him far better at controlling it than Naruto ever was. That said, I'm still debating what to do with elemental ninjutsu. _

___Thoughts? On the combat scene, especially, I'm still a little iffy about it. Not my best piece of writing, but I can't say I've had that much experience writing fight scenes._


	4. Chapter Three: Teachers and Enemies

And Chapter 3 is here, finally. Little bit later than I intended, and a little bit shorter but sadly, that's uni for you. Getting to end of term now, so work's piling up on me. =(

As always, R&R please.

* * *

Chapter Three: Teachers and Enemies

"Good work, Team Seven. If you would like to take another mission today, your options are either clearing the Sosaka's land, repainting the walls of an apartment block over near the market quarter, or providing construction assistance to a team of workers in the residential quarter." The two boys looked at each other, mirroring one another despite their differences, and nodded in silent agreement. This was their chance, one way or another.

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect, if our so-called _sensei_ isn't going to teach us, we would like a C-rank mission to test ourselves on." Kakashi twitched in irritation, while Sakura gasped at their audacity. Kakashi's lateness, laziness and overwhelming apparent disinterest in his team had quickly become a point of conflict with his blonde-haired student.

"Hmm? What do you mean, 'isn't going to teach you'?" Sarutobi replied, eyes narrowing.

"Pfft. The lazy bastard hasn't done anything with us beyond team-building exercises, exercises that we haven't yet failed. As it is, he doesn't even know what we're capable of. I've probably taught these two more than he has, despite him being our sensei for three months and me being a fresh Genin." Cold, clinical, precise, and absolutely gutting his 'teacher's' reputation as an instructor. "As it is, I'd prefer to have someone else replace him, seeing as he obviously isn't interested in teaching us, nor sharing his obscene jutsu library with a few genin who know three non-academy techniques between them." A small white lie, he knew a few more, but nobody else was aware of that fact.

Kakashi just looked at him, mask of indifference slowly slipping away in his shock. They wanted him replaced? HIM? The ex-ANBU elite? The master of a thousand jutsu?... The clawed youth just gazed back at him, red eyes cold and scornful as he continued.

"Your shock betrays you, _sensei_. You think your past service record is an indication of teaching competence? Iruka is a Chuunin, and even though he quite obviously despised me, he was fair and taught well. Ebisu is an elite instructor, but he isn't even a full Jounin. By all accounts, Kurenai is an excellent tutor, but I have my doubts as to whether she will ever surpass you in raw combat finesse. No, Hatake, though you have plenty to teach, you just don't." He turned back to the Hokage, now ignoring the stunned Jounin beside him. "My apologies for the outburst, Hokage-sama, but this has been a point of contention between us for some time, and he has not addressed it."

"Hmmm. And you two? How do you feel about your teacher?," the old man asked, pointedly looking at Sasuke and Sakura.

"I desire strength. Our teamwork is nearly flawless, so that is obviously not the problem. I would rather someone who actually taught me than simply insisted on repeating drills we've been completing for weeks." Sasuke had had the importance of respect impressed upon him by his teammate. Arrogance got him nowhere, he found, except with people too weak to worry about anyway, such as the villagers. 'Looks like he was right,' he thought, seeing the Hokage seriously thinking his answer through, instead of dismissing it as a cry of a spoiled brat.

"I... I want to protect my teammates. I can't do that with just the Academy learning. I need someone who will help, not stare at a rock all day." 'I can't get Sasuke-kun to like me if I can't help him!' They had gone searching for Kakashi on their fourth day together, two of them wondering why he was always so late, one irritated because he knew. Finding him staring at the memorial stone near Training Ground Seven, eyes clouded with thought as he continued to mourn his dead teammate and father figure. Needless to say, Sasuke and Sakura were quickly educated as to the purpose of the stone, a memoir to all those who had sacrificed their lives for the good of Konoha, but didn't find the need to stare at the damn rock for five or six hours a day. Sarutobi sighed.

'What a mess,' he thought. 'Maybe this will be a proper wakeup call for Kakashi.'

"I have a compromise for you. I'll give you a C-rank, and if you're still dissatisfied with your instructor afterwards, then you can bring this up again. Kakashi, I expect you to actually do something useful in your downtime on this mission, understood?" Sarutobi proposed, his voice calm as ever.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Kakashi's voice reflecting his stunned mind. His students just nodded. It was good enough. Hopefully they would actually learn something from the elite shinobi now... Maybe...

"Good. Bring in the client, please," Sarutobi asked, one of the nearby Chuunin poking his head out the door and calling. Sure enough, an untidy man wielding a beer bottle and a ferocious smell soon walked through the door, eyebrows raising as he looked at Team Seven.

"These brats are supposed to be the ones protecting me? They don't even look like they should be out of school! I don't think they can do it," the man announced loudly. The blonde, he noticed, was just staring at him, crimson eyes taking in his dishevelled appearance, rancid breath and despite his inebriation, nervous, shifting eyes.

'He's too uneasy. Either he really doesn't like ninja, or he's lying about something. Possibly both.' He sighed. 'Unfortunately, this is the only way I'm going to get to stretch my legs in a while. Guess I can scare him a bit, though.' He grinned.

"Name?" he asked, short and to the point.

"Tazuna! The super bridge builder of Wave Country!"

"I see. How many people have you seen killed?" Tazuna lifted an eyebrow.

"What kind of question is that?" he asked, a little shaken.

"Sasuke there," the 'brat' replied, gesturing, "saw his entire clan, some three hundred odd people, slaughtered before his eyes at age seven." Sakura gasped. 'How did she not know that?,' he thought absently. "At age eight, I personally killed almost two hundred and fifty people that were trying to burn me alive. So you tell me, are we ready for a few mere _bandits_?" He emphasised the last word, noting both Tazuna's widened, fearful eyes and the Hokage's narrowed, suspicious ones were focused on him.

'Shit, I slipped. And Tazuna's lying about the bandits. Maybe this won't be as dull as I thought.' He shook his head, annoyed with himself. 'Going to be owing the old man an explanation when I get back, though.' Sarutobi nodded, his eyes now focused on the drunk by the door.

"I assure you, Tazuna-san, they are quite capable. In any case, Kakashi is a Jounin, more than enough for this mission. There shouldn't be any problems."

"Alright then, everybody be at the east gate at eight am, might as well get an early start," Kakashi said, apparently broken out of his self-reflective fugue.

"Don't be late, _sensei_. Wouldn't want bad things to happen to your reputation, after all," came the sarcastic reply, his team already halfway out the door, respects to the Hokage already paid. As Kakashi gathered his chakra for his escape, Sarutobi spoke again, his voice dark.

"Don't fail your students again, Kakashi."

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"Sasuke." The other boy just nodded. As they stepped past the puddle, the paler boy turned, foot sinking into the puddle in a stomp as a silvery clawed gauntlet rose out of it. Seizing it, the blonde spun, kicking the elbow viciously, snapping it with his chakra powered limb. A pained howl erupted from the puddle as he pulled on the arm, dragging the owner form the safety of the water as his raven-haired teammate reached in, yanking the other masked figure from the puddle unconscious. Diving down, he pinned his maimed victim mercilessly, using the spiked chain attached to his gauntlet and broken arm as leverage. As Tazuna looked on in shock, Kakashi a mix of pride and curiosity, Sakura just gaped at the brutal but efficient disable by her two teammates. She shivered.

"Well done, Sasuke, Naruto. And one of them is even still awake for questioning!" Kakashi said, dragging the two bodies over to a nearby tree and tying them there. "Now we need to know why the hell a Mist-nin is hiding in a puddle in Fire Country. Who wants the honours?"

"Oh, do pick me, I do so love the smell of blood." The feral grin coming from a crimson-eyed child began to creep out the poor Mist-nin, but he held his ground.

"I'm Gozu and this is my brother, Meizu. I'm waiting for someone! A stoneworker! His name's Taka Shimaru! He's wanted in Mist for intentionally sabotaging work he did there!"

"The Demon Brothers, huh. And you're panicking. Frightened.... Lying. I HATE liars." His eyes narrowed, slitted pupils burning. "You're going to be punished for that." Even as he spoke, he walked over to the man. He dug his sharpened claws into poor Gozu's chest between the taut wires, splitting the skin just under the right hand side his ribcage. He curled up his fingers and pulled. Hard. The rib snapped, and Gozu screamed. He kept pulling, ripping, shredding, and slowly the man's skin began to stretch out, rippling and tearing under the boy's strength. Strength no thirteen-year-old should have, to tear skin like that.

It's a little known fact that human skin is not only remarkably thick, almost half a centimetre on the palms and soles of the feet, it's incredibly resistant to tearing. You can support a man's full body weight by sinking hooks under the skin of his back and hoisting him up with it. Extremely painful, and fairly comprehensive damage to the muscle tissue underneath, but no tearing. And this boy, smiling like a demon, ripped and tore his way out of a man's chest, newly broken rib coming out in his hand, dripping with blood and oblique muscle still attached.

Sakura ran off into the trees, her stomach roiling as she vomited. Tazuna watched her, green and looking like he wanted to follow. Even Sasuke looked a little shocked at the brutality of his teammate. Kakashi just watched, eye narrowed. Gozu, previously screaming in agony, gasped for breath, before chuckling, wincing at the agony of the motion.

"Heh. You'll get nothing now, I'm going to bleed out in minutes. Stupid brat," he managed to gasp out, eyes screwed shut in pain.

"He's right, at this rate he's going to bleed to death in less than two minutes." Kakashi shook his head, disapproving both the brutality, and the ineffectiveness of his method.

"Oh sensei, did you forget? I have unfair advantages, remember? Like this one." Even as he grinned, elongated canines flashing, red, roiling chakra bubbled out of his hand. Placing it to the wound, he watched it burn the flesh maliciously as Gozu screamed again, this time loudly enough to scare nearby birds out of their trees and into the sky. "Silly little demon. I'm going to sear all your wounds closed just so you DON'T bleed out. What do you think I am, a fool?"

This time Tazuna did leave, unable to watch the teen, a BOY really, torture and maim another human being, let alone appear to be truly enjoying it. Kakashi watched, eye narrowed at his 'student'.

"So. Do I get to do that again, or are you going to tell me what the hell you're doing here?"

"Tch. Ne.... Never."

"Oh, goody. I do so love it when the prey tries to fight back." This time, he really grinned, pointed teeth showing, as he reached for Gozu's torso, the discarded rib lying on the ground, leaking blood and marrow into the soil...

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**Two hours later...**

Kakashi pulled the knife out of Meizu's throat, his shattered limbs and ruined torso hanging limp against the wires next to his brother's limbless shattered chest, and turned to his now blood-covered student. They had the whole story now, Wave's poverty, Gato's monopoly, and a high likelihood of A-rank missing nins hunting the bridge builder. But that wasn't his concern, this mission had gone well beyond the parameters of a C-rank, it was his responsibility to get his team back to Konoha safely. But... Naruto worried him. No genin should be that jaded, that BRUTAL

"Naruto. While effective, don't you think that was a little excessive?"

"Excessive? I told you, sensei, I hate liars. They got what they deserved for that, let alone trying to kill my client. My enemies get no mercy from me. Ever. You prove yourself an enemy, you suffer for it. We got what we needed." He looked up at his sensei, red eyes hard and cold.

"And before you say anything, no, I'm not going back to that damn village. This is the first time I've been out of that damn village EVER, and I'm staying out of that miserable den of wretched, pathetic mental lepers as long as I can. Go run back to the Hokage if you want, but I'm taking this opportunity to be away from those idiots. Tazuna!" The old drunk looked up, his stomach emptied of its contents in the last two hours more effectively than it ever had been before, to see crimson eyes looking at him pointedly. He flinched, lowering his gaze again.

"We're leaving. I do believe Hatake wants to take his students back to Konoha, but I have no intention of doing so." He turned back onto the road, pulling out a water bottle and emptying it over his bloody hands, getting most of the red, life-giving liquid off. "And don't lie to me again. It won't end well."

"Naruto. You know I can't let you abandon your team like this." Kakashi said, threat barely veiled.

"I'm not abandoning you, I'm continuing the mission. You're the one leaving me to go back to Konoha. But by all means, try and stop me, I'd like to see how that ends," he responded, cold and calm.

"I'm going with Naruto. I'm not abandoning this mission." Sasuke stalked past his teacher, joining the black and crimson clad boy and the old man on the road to Wave. 'I need the experience if I'm ever going to get anywhere. I can't run from my first C-rank. It'd be disgraceful, abandoning a mission,' his thoughts silent.

"Ugh. Fine. I can't let you two go and probably get yourselves killed against a Jounin. This mission is now A-rank. I expect you all to follow orders properly. Tazuna. If we succeed, you'll be billed for the updated mission costs at a later date." Naruto just smirked at him, fox-features twisting the expression into a mocking one.

"Let's go then," the black-clad boy said, before turning and walking down the road.

Sakura just stared after them, heart in her throat as she hide from the boy, the monster... the demon, who was her teammate...

"Sakura. Let's go." Kakashi's voice broke through her reverie. He was a Jounin. He'd protect her... right?.....

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And that's C3. Let me know what you think.


	5. Chapter Four: Of Death and Revelations

**Demon's Side C4**

You know, I did mention earlier that I was going to try and avoid the Sakura and Kakashi bashing, but it just flows so EASILY when you have a character willing to snap at them without fear of the consequences. It will slowly be vanishing now that it's all out in the air, though, giving both of them a much-needed wakeup call.

Yes, Sakura's just a kid, but god, at the start of the original series she is in no way ready to even attempt to kill anybody, you know, that big ole' section of the 'ninja duties handbook' and so forth, mentally or physically. And KAKASHI, ARGH, character flaws are falling out of his eyeball, he's so full of shit.

Anyway, rant over, hope you enjoy Chapter 4.

Oh, I also changed the rating to M, mostly for a few bits of course language. Next chapter though, this story will probably earn its M in raining blood and sprays of gore. Always better if you have good visualisation!

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* * *

**Chapter 4: Of Death and Revelations**

Well, shit. And they had been doing so well, too.

Sakura guarding Tazuna, Sasuke off somewhere engaging Zabuza's backup hunter nin, and Naruto... well, Naruto was sitting there eating a raw rabbit he'd gone and skewered just before the ambush, looking amused at his predicament.

"Too bad, Kakashi. You were doing pretty well until you came out here, into my domain. You aren't a water user, Copy-nin. I am surprised your brats found Haku though. Guess I should have expected better from students of the Sharingan." As the silver-haired Jounin looked up through the water at his bandaged captor, he noticed his only visible student stand, tossing the last leg bone over his shoulder as he licked his lips. That feral grin was becoming unnerving.

"Looks like the first rounds over, Zabuza. You all warmed up now?" Zabuza just raised a hairless brow, sceptical.

"You've gotta be kidding me, kid. You want me, an A-ranked nukenin, to fight you, some snot nosed baby Genin? A brat who has no fucking clue what being a ninja is really about. That's not even funny, that's just insulting." At that, the blonde just grinned, pointed canines glinting in the diffuse light, before reaching for his pouch, tossing a small white tube, jagged at one end, on the shore next to the swordsman.

"That game from one of the Demon Brothers. Gozu, I think. Your subordinate, right?" Zabuza leaned forward, looking closer... It was a rib. Kakashi grimaced. "I can't say I'm usually in the habit of keeping trophies, but that's my first Konoha-sanctioned kill, had to have something to remember it by." The grin turned vicious, his crimson eyes glowing as the chakra-induced mist rolled back in. Kakashi idly wondered if he might actually live through this.

"Try not to die immediately, Zabuza. There'd be no challenge... Oh, and you should probably let go of Kakashi, being stationary _really_ isn't going to help you." The ex-mist nin listened intently, hearing faint pops and wisps of movement. Then he felt it. Dark. Oppressive... Malicious. He was so focused on the foreign chakra he barely dodged the kunai that came hurtling out of the mist, going for his hamstrings. Another pair aimed for his torso, neatly sidestepped, careful to keep his hand in the water prison around Kakashi. He spotted the red glow in the mist, twisting away from the burning red chakra claw that came flying for him... only to have it curve in midair, wrapping its length around him, claws sinking deep into his left shoulder for purchase.

It burned. Oh GODS, how it burned, searing, charring, ripping away at his skin. As the bandaged ninja let out a strangled yell, struggling against the fiery, acidic chakra encasing his torso, the newly freed Kakashi slowly stood, wary and cautious of the red, bubbling blonde, lone fiery tail waving behind him, advancing through the dispersing mist.

"You're not Naruto, are you?" Crimson eyes flicked over to him, slitted pupils alert and dancing with amusement. He grimaced behind the mask, mind racing. His student chuckled, the sound grating on his nerves, before a deep voice, rasping like ash, emerged from the 'boy'.

"Trust Sharingan Kakashi to work it out in less than two minutes of combat. You're right, I'm not." Kakashi grimaced.

'Well, shit. This just keeps going from bad to worse. First a C-rank turned A rank, now the Kyuubi's out of the seal.'

"What happened to Naruto? Why are you out of your seal?" He asked warily, only to have the fox snort, in amusement and disdain.

"The boy's mind and soul have been dead for five years, Hatake. The Third could have told you that, I believe he worked it out sometime after the attack on the Ichiraku's. He still hasn't confronted me about it though. Odd." He mused, voice totally discordant with the young teenager's body. Kakashi opened his mouth to ask another question, only to feel Sasuke's chakra signature vanish. Judging by the way his 'student's' head snapped around, he had too.

"Take care of this, would you?" The not-request came not even a second before the moaning, burned body of Momochi Zabuza landed at his feet, landing with the loud crunch of breaking bone. He looked up just in time to see the blonde leaping into the trees at speeds he'd be hard-pressed to match in his current condition, if he was able to at all. He pulled a kunai from his vest, kneeling to slit the throat of the Demon of the Mist, before he felt a pair of needle pricks on the back of his neck.

Shit. Had he really not noticed the masked nin's approach?

Then he heard a loud thud and a wet crunch, accompanied by a too-short gasp of pain. He turned to see his black and crimson clad Genin withdrawing a blood-covered, clawed hand from the prone body of Zabuza's hunter-nin companion.

"Really? As if I'm going to leave someone on the verge of chakra exhaustion alone in foreign territory, Jounin or not. Stupid, kid. And now you're dead." The blonde stepped off the corpse, glancing at him briefly before moving over to Zabuza. "Sloppy, Hatake. I'm just a clone; one of the others should be back with the Uchiha soon." Kakashi blinked.

'Shadow clones in the hiding mist... What other tricks does he have up his sleeve?'

"Zabuza never stood a chance, did he, Kyuubi?" The fanged 'boy' chuckled, before that voice, grating with malice and yet calm, like a raging inferno locked behind a thick door.

"He did not, no. A pity about his subordinate though. Ice release bloodline, I thought he'd survive that. Guess he was too young to master it. Maybe it was just bad teaching." He shrugged, indifferent. Then the clones eyes narrowed, slitted pupils glaring down at the kneeling Jounin. "Don't even think about it, Hatake. Telling Haruno and Uchiha that Naruto's gone won't do anything except terrify Haruno." He looked at Kakashi, red eyes piercing the blank mask and calm exterior, seeing the intent of the man within.

"I have no intention to kill you or the others, for the moment. Sasuke might even become useful with a bit of teaching and a little direction." He snorted, seeing the complete lack of reaction in the Jounin. "Heh. You are welcome to try for your revenge, if you wish, but be warned, if you do so, you shall mark yourself my enemy. You've seen what happens to my enemies, Hatake. Good luck." Then the black-clad clone turned to the landing original, noting the senbon-studded Sasuke being lowered to the ground, before dispelling silently, a faint wisp of smoke trailing where its feet had been.

"He's alive, in metabolic suspension." The original shook his head. "The masked child was a master of pressure points, it seems. However, it appears he did not have the heart, or lack thereof, to slay another. Uchiha was lucky; he should be dead in his arrogance. Fighting an unknown, undocumented ninja as a fresh Genin, skilled or not, was foolish." He opened his mouth to continue, but his thoughts were interrupted by pounding feet and a panicked scream.

"SASUKE-KUN! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM, MONSTER?" The whiskered youth winced, sensitive ears ringing, before rounding on he, eyes cold and voice like a frozen lake.

"I saved his pathetic life, pinkie, while you were just standing by, useless as always. Being scared of me is not a reason to make unfounded accusations, nor deafen me with your accursed shrieking. Now, be silent." Turning from the now wide-eyed girl, he focused on his Jounin-sensei. "Hatake, you're exhausted and Gato will likely attempt to find more ninja once he realises these two are dead. We need a safe house..." Then, blinking in realization, he turned back to Sakura.

"Haruno. You're an idiot, as well as incompetent." Then, before her stunned, tear-filled eyes, he turned and sprinted back down the road she had just come from. A minute later, he returned, the somewhat dishevelled bridge builder in tow.

"Haruno, what in the nine circles of hell possessed you to leave an ESCORT client unguarded? Was it your infatuation with an emotionally retarded brat, one who wouldn't return your affection if it killed him? Or are you truly just that stupid? For someone who supposedly topped the graduation class in book work, your intelligence leaves something to be seriously desired."

"That's enough. She's a fresh Genin; this is her first live combat experience." An exhausted Kakashi spoke from beside the now severed head of Momochi Zabuza.

"I'll give you that, _sensei_, considering she didn't actually do anything against the Demon Brothers, but she wilfully disobeyed orders, endangered the mission and has yet to even attempt to touch an enemy to assist us, living OR dead. She should be removed from the ranks as soon as we get back to Konoha for gross incompetence and insubordination, but you, respected elite of the leaf, are going to let it slide instead of promoting teamwork. The 'teamwork' that obviously consists of me and Sasuke carrying this pathetic excuse for a ninja, while she continues to endanger us. I gave her a chance, taught her some essential skills for a kunoichi, but her mentality is not suited for this work. Wake up, the both of you. Haruno, this is not a fairy tale. WE are the bloody, merciless hand of death. Hatake, we're not your long-dead teammates, we are completely different people. I'm done with both of you." Picking up Sasuke's still unconscious body, he turned away from his so-called team, disgusted, to Tazuna.

"We're going to need a place to stay, at least until Hatake's back to full strength."

"You can use my house, we should have enough space." The blonde just nodded in thanks, before turning and heading for the village in the distance. He left behind an introspective, emotionally drained Jounin and a stunned, crying Genin with the exact same thought.

'Is that really how I am?...'

* * *

Kakashi was frustrated. Originally, he was going to teach them chakra attachment, more commonly known as tree walking, and maybe water walking, as they were in a water-abundant country. Then he learned the Kyuubi really HADN'T been joking when he said Kakashi had no idea of his or Sasuke's real strengths. Judging by the comments directed at Sakura the day before, however, he believed his estimation there was fairly accurate.

He shook his head, glad he'd planned ahead... sort of. The blonde really had taught his team more than he, a revelation which had disturbed him. He really hadn't been a good teacher, though he wasn't exactly regretting it. He'd avoided increasing the strength of the demon that had torched the village thirteen years ago. That being the case, he'd decided to go for another relatively common skill, breaking genjutsu on one's self and others, only to find that they already knew it... again.

'Damn. There goes the easy training. Guess it's time to go into elemental jutsu. At least they're easier than pure chakra techniques.' He sighed; disappointed that he'd be forced into doing so much work already. Then he jerked in realisation of a truth he'd been avoiding for some time.

'Why am I disappointed that I have to teach my students? I'm just like I was as a kid, not helping Obito or Rin, even though they were my teammates... Have I really not changed at all?' He shook his head, clearing his depressing thoughts for another time, and pulled a few small pieces of paper from one of his pockets.

"This is chakra-sensitive paper, made from a special kind of wood. I want you to channel your chakra into it, it'll tell you your elemental affinity, or, if you're really lucky, affinities. The chakra will crumple for Lightning, split for Wind, crumble to dust for Earth, catch alight for Fire, and get wet for Water. Obviously, the degree to which one happens is related to your strength in your affinity." As he handed out the papers, he looked back over at his blonde student. "Naruto, could I have a word?"

The blonde just looked up at him, smirking slightly.

'He knows I don't want to teach him. This isn't going to be a pleasant conversation.' After he'd handed the pieces of chakra paper to his other students, and they'd walked out of earshot of his other students, he opened his mouth again.

"I'll be blunt. I have no intention of teaching the murderer of my sensei anything, let alone techniques it could use to slaughter my comrades in the future." The blonde just nodded.

"I'd surmised as much. I, however, would rather be taught, and right now, you're in no shape to fight me on it. However, if I kill you, I end up with nothing and I'm fairly sure Sarutobi would be rather unhappy. So, compromise. I want two things. One; a piece of that chakra paper, so I know what this body's affinities are, and two, a description of the elemental chakras and how to produce them as a mortal. I don't know much in the way of specific jutsu, and I'm not exactly well-versed in human techniques, so I won't be able to use the knowledge to kill Konoha Nin for some time, regardless of my intent." Kakashi thought about it briefly.

'He doesn't know how to make jutsu work, nor does he know how to do any elemental jutsu. It's not a big danger, and this is information readily available in the shinobi archives in Konoha, so he's got at most a week or two's head start. Not a bad deal, really, especially considering he could just kill me. Though, in retrospect, he seems fairly level-headed.'

"Alright then. Here. I'll tell Sakura and Sasuke you learn better out of a scroll and on your own, and that's what we're talking about now, it'll keep them satisfied." As the clawed hand reached for the small square of paper, Kakashi turned back to his other students, noting the crumpled, lightly burning slip in Sasuke's hand and the finely crumbled dust in Sakura's, before an orange flash behind him prompted him to turn back, eyes narrowing. "You just said you didn't know any fire jutsu."

"I don't. The paper split... and then exploded into flame." He upended his hand, pouring a small pile of ash onto the grass. Kakashi's eye widened.

"Looks like a passable Wind affinity and an ungodly strength with Fire... makes sense, really. You're a fox spirit, traditionally associated with fire. Your body's exposure to your nature must have added it to the boy's makeup."

"I suppose, I've always been at home in the flames. It's useful that to know that affinity's paid off. Now, the other part of our deal?"

"This is a scroll on Fire manipulation, but there aren't any techniques in it. I was going to give it to Sasuke, seeing as I knew he had a Fire affinity, being an Uchiha, but this works just as well. Wind, I'm not really sure on, it's the only element I can't really use at all, but Asuma once said it's like rubbing two 'edges' of the wind together to make something thin and sharp. You'll have to ask him when we return." The blonde nodded, temporarily satisfied, before Kakashi handed him the scroll, then turned and sat at the base of a tree, already scanning the scroll's contents. As Kakashi walked back to the others, Sakura spoke up.

"Kakashi-sensei, why is Naruto reading a scroll? And what was that orange flash?"

"He's reading a scroll because I gave it to him. I know he tends to learn better on his own, without any help or distraction, that's what I was talking to him about. The orange flash... I believe it was his chakra paper. He has an amazingly powerful fire affinity, probably stemming from the Kyuubi. Now, Sakura, you're an Earth-type. As far as I know, the last really powerful earth user in Konoha was Tsunade herself, though there have been a few reasonable users since then. Sasuke, you have a dual-element, Lightning, like me, and the traditional Uchiha Fire." Sasuke smirked, dual affinities to Sakura's single fulfilling his ever present need to be proven superior. "Now, while Naruto's off learning that..."

That night, dinner was attended by a quiet, depressed boy. Apparently, it was Tsunami's son, Inari, who was just picking at his food, looking miserable.

"Why are you training? You're just going to die. Gato's going to kill you too. Heroes... they just die in this country." A brief, blank silence followed his statement, before harsh chuckling broke into the reverie. "What are you laughing at? Didn't you hear me? YOU'RE GOING TO DIE HERE!" His pronouncement, however, only made the disturbing blonde laugh harder, his chuckle evolving into a harsh, grating sound of amusement. "Heroes don't exist. Not anymore..." Eventually, the slitted, crimson eyes focused back on Inari's face, the other five people in the house not having said a word between them.

"Oh dear. That was funny, tell me another." He chuckled again. "Heroes exist just fine, kid. They're just either incredibly powerful, like the Fourth Hokage," and here Kakashi winced, the irony not lost on him, "or they die. Usually the latter, like I'm guessing your father did. They die pointless, sad deaths, usually because the things they fight for? They aren't kept by the people that remain. Their legacies are forgotten, their values lost, and their existence, their Heroism, fades away. All because the people around them, the so-called friends, comrades, lovers, of those heroes, give up, or forget."

"WE HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN HIM! HE DIED DEFENDING US FROM THAT BASTARD!"

"And yet you sit here in your house, loved by your mother and your grandfather, knowing nothing of TRUE hardship, because this entire village, bar one man, is too scared to go out and fight for yourselves or his memory. Tazuna, your own grandfather is alone, the ONE man in this entire place who is making a stand, and you wonder why you're getting trodden into the dirt?" He shook his head at the kid's shocked look. "Gato can't fight the entire village, brat, even with mercenaries. Your father died a pointless, pathetic death. A real hero's death." He shook his head, frustrated at the combined ineptitude and foolishness of the villagers of wave. "If you want something, you have to go out and fight for it, claw, tooth and nail. Nobody is going to do it for you."

Tsunami had new tears in her eyes, the harsh words bringing back precious memories, and as she watched, she realised that in the end, the blonde kid was right. They hadn't fought, so they were beaten before it even began.

"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW? YOU LIVE IN A SAFE NINJA VILLAGE! YOU'RE NO HERO, YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT US! YOU'RE JUST A MONSTER!"

"Oh, shit." Kakashi's mumbled swearing was only heard by Sasuke and Tazuna, who both glanced at him, nodding in agreement. The blonde, in the process of standing up to leave, froze. His crimson eyes, previously cold and uncaring, indifferent to the suffering of Wave, flared to life. All they saw in them now was anger. Furious, violent, all-consuming rage, the kind the gods themselves would be wary of. When he spoke, his voice was like ash, cold, but still burning, malice and violence simmering just below the surface.

"Monster, huh." He bared his teeth, sharp fangs glinting, as he raised his hands, the black, pointed claws on his hands visible. "You have no IDEA about monsters, BOY. I once tried to save a boy like you. He believed in people, he loved them all, no matter what they did to him. I watched as the people he loved BURNED HIM ALIVE at eight years old, for no reason." He turned for the door, red fiery chakra beginning to bubble on his skin.

"You were right. I am no hero. Heroes die fighting for the people they love and the things they believe in. I did not, watched helpless as the things I loved died around me. All I exist for now, is vengeance. To slaughter those who took something precious from me. Now, I am leaving before I kill you and everybody else in this miserable little shithole you call a country. So you sit here in your nice little house, deep in your misery, and thinking you have life hard, and when I come back I will rip you limb from limb, and use your bones to sharpen my teeth."

And then he was gone, red mist slowly disappearing in his wake. Kakashi let go of the breath he'd been holding, and moved his hand away from his scroll pouches. He 'smiled' cheerfully.

"Well. That could have gone better."

* * *

A/N:  
Has anyone else noticed I'm tending to give Kyuubi the long speeches? And a lot of them? It's weird, maybe it's something to do with the fact there's just not a lot of responses you can make to most of his points. Like here, I'm basically using Inari as a foil to have him point out all the inadequacies and idiocies of the people of wave, and then poking him into a fiery rage. I'm also tempted to have the Kyuubi carry out his threat and kill Inari in a fit of rage, but I guess this would have been the place to do it, rather than after he's had some time to cool off.

Should have some more stabbing in the next chapter, maybe the one after. Unfortunately, it's coming up to the end of semester now (coming up on the last week, so 2 weeks until exams start... Yay) so my writing rate will probably be non-existent till they're all done. We'll see.

Should only be two more chapters till we're out of Wave (yes, I know, it's a really boring arc because it's so overdone, but this is my first fanfic, so I figured I'd leave the plot alone (for the most part), but we're now getting into some original territory, what with Zabuza and Haku's relatively 'Eh? Who are you?' sort of appearances and deaths. I don't think I mentioned Haku's name more than once.

Thoughts? Comments? R&R, please, let me know what you think. Suggestions are always welcome, though I may or may not use them.


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